Sailed through breaks at work today. Thought here and there, wistful moments, romanticizing smoking. Didn't go outdoors to the smoking area to be sure to avoid temptation to ask for a smoke. Had small plate of nachos for dinner. Normally I'd relax outside on my patio with a cigarette. Instead I got out the yogurt and red grapes. On their own, it's a healthy snack. Thing is, I wasn't hungry. They were a substitution for smoking. Not good. I don't want to gain weight. One of things I have to do to get the swelling down in my legs is to drop 5-10 pounds, not gain them.

Well, not many people find it easy to stay quit. I'm on my guard against cravings. Moment to moment I say, feeling that I want a cigarette does not mean that I have to act on that feeling.

Instead of going out for fag breaks at work i started going for a walk round the block. Could you do that? Kills two birds with one stone, keeps you away from the smokers and helps with the little extra youve eaten. But really grapes and yoghurt!! I wouldnt be worrying. As you say thats healthy.

Hi Kate, going to bed is a great idea and one I did many a night in my first couple of months. I'm sure that if you ask your Dr. gaining a few pounds may not be ideal with your condition but it's better than smoking with that condition. Can you get sugar free candies to suck on? I had lemon drops for a while and they had nothing for calories and they last a long time. I don't know about you but I never smoked and anything at the same time including candy so maybe that will help? And don't forget to drink lots of water

green meenie, snowywinter and notsmokin'jo like this

Things began to get better when I realized I would remain quit even if things never got any better.

Christian99 16 Years Quit

We say here that it is better to be a nonsmoker with the occasional desire to smoke than a smoker with the constant desire to quit. Marciem
Being successful doesn't mean that you'll never GET to smoke again. It means that you'll never HAVE to smoke again.

Sailed through breaks at work today. Thought here and there, wistful moments, romanticizing smoking. Didn't go outdoors to the smoking area to be sure to avoid temptation to ask for a smoke. Had small plate of nachos for dinner. Normally I'd relax outside on my patio with a cigarette. Instead I got out the yogurt and red grapes. On their own, it's a healthy snack. Thing is, I wasn't hungry. They were a substitution for smoking. Not good. I don't want to gain weight. One of things I have to do to get the swelling down in my legs is to drop 5-10 pounds, not gain them.

Well, not many people find it easy to stay quit. I'm on my guard against cravings. Moment to moment I say, feeling that I want a cigarette does not mean that I have to act on that feeling.

Kate, just do whatever you need to do to add time to your timeline - since your last smoke. Read everything you can find here for suggestions; but nothing can make it easy - other than time. In the early months, I honestly did not believe I could function without being able to smoke as a “reward” or a way to “rest” or a way to “celebrate”. But in this case, “practice really does make perfect”. If you practice living enough days without a smoke, pretty soon, you won’t even think much about it. Trust the “old phartes”.

Don't worry about the extra food right now, you can reevaluate that in a month or two... also, you could go for a post dinner walk...drizzle or clear, I love an evening walk in Seattle...exercise and fresh air...got to love that...whatever you do, don't smoke

I'm going out on a limb here and probably get smacked by Admin, but here goes:

I've scoured websites, and while I know the internet is no substitute for a medical degree, on none of the sites referencing Buerger's disease did I see "drop 5 or 10 pounds" as part of the treatment. Universally the one recommendation was "stop smoking". Mild exercise is also recommended for Buerger's, and that can help with the weight. Nobody's going to recommend gaining weight BUT...

It looks to me like you are looking for that loophole all of us addicts seek... this one being "I was told not to gain weight but to lose it. Quitting smoking makes me gain weight". So you can put yourself in danger of losing weight the hard way... by having limbs amputated. Not good. I know you haven't threatened to cave yet, but you are very early days. Keep your priorities firm.

Therefore, I'm throwing in my vote for making quitting smoking your priority until it is solidly and permanently fixed in your life. Eat as healthy as you can, if its gotta be candy make it sugar free. Don't let yourself feel deprived, though, that can be overwhelming and the cause of tossing in the towel (and quit) on all the good you've done.

disclaimer: I do realize we're all different, and have different doctors. I just worry about you Kate... you've been here so long and there's always a 'reason' for you to go back to smoking. This is too important now! , and my advice is given only in the most caring of perspectives.

S.mokingisN.ot anO.ptionT.odayBetter to be a nonsmoker with an occasional desire to smoke, than a smoker with a constant desire to quit.Remember: everything bad about quitting is temporary, and everything good about quitting is permanent. TimidTulipNot a day will ever go by that life is 100% perfect. But 100% of the days are better not smoking jwgI feel no matter my outcome, quitting was still hands down the best thing I ever did....r.i.p. jwg 12/28/13Like John, no matter my own outcome, quitting smoking is hands down the best thing I've ever done... mlm 2/16/17

I was diagnosed with borderline COPD three years ago, caused by smoking. Luckily I had quit over 10 years, so I never had to do the obvious..

You will feel great if you quit for 1 year. Just ask people here.

NOPE KTQ ETQ NTAP

Catlover, cvold and notsmokin'jo like this

Relapse is like peeling an onion. TEARS!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it"

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950}

NOPE stands for Not One Puff EVER....

It does not stand for......

Not One Puff EXCEPT...

The minimum requirement is maximum commitment....to NOPE

It takes many good decisions to make a good quit, and only one bad one to lose it.

Narrow your focus to just quitting smoking Kate18. You know it's the Top Priority in your life right now with nothing else even coming close. Just quit smoking - 1 hour, 1 day at a time until you have a solid quit built.

Kate..PM,D you sweetheart ...
How much do your two feet weigh...this is what I used to ask myself...
Yes losing your feet will make you lighter I'm sure...but...we kinda want to keep hold of our limbs...
The folks here will support you every part of your journey...
You have to believe you can and you will...
Losing weight is just.. Well pants...not up there fight now...I can hear your feet shouting...were first..
Concentrate on your quit..one step at a time...no over thinking..
You can do it..I'm rooting for you here..x

Only you can keep your quit. Maintain the NOPE one day at a time. After the first 24 hours quitting for a day isn't that hard to face. So food is your substitute, chewy (gum) or hard candy to suck works well. Cellery sticks are awesome AND take more calories to digest and eat than they contain. Walnuts, almonds and strawberries are all antioxidants, brain food and appetite suppressants. Stay strong and keep your quit.

You can do this, Kate! Look at all the ex-smokers here and remember that many of us had moments (or hours or weeks) when we doubted our ability to go the distance and put down the cigarettes forever. All sorts of "great" reasons to give in will pop up, so you have to keep your eyes on the final prize, which, among other things, will be to have given yourself the best possible chance at reversing or stopping the progression of this disease. Look at the lovely Ollie for special inspiration since it sounds as if she was in a very similar situation and came out a winner. We are all rooting for you.

I think it's good to have lots of healthy food around so that when you grab something it's healthy. I mean who cares how much lettuce or carrots you eat right? Issue here is only when you grab potato chips or chocolate.

I get it. You're quitting smoking and it's hard. You want to put something in your mouth to sooth. That's fine. Just work on putting what's better in your mouth. I don't agree with people who say eat candy or whatever to stop smoking. It's not necessary and I think it would likely make quitting harder due to health consequences of it. That's just my take on it.

Do not focus on needing to eat. In case you haven't noticed, eating is something we all need to do. But focus on what you eat. And don't moan about eating a carrot or nuts or seeds or fruit or salad. When that's all you eat they tend to taste like a big chocolate bar because your tastebuds change.

Hope this info helps.

avian3 and sslip like this

Quit date Thursday 24th October. 2017, 10.10am AEDT.

It is a relief to not be killing myself slowly. Every day I don't smoke I am getting stronger.